As we walk along our paths in life, we will encounter several forms of friendships. There will be friends of convenience, friends by association, and friends of the heart. Friends out of convenience are friendships that you might have simply because you both are accessible to one another. These friendships are common in a work or school environment as people are united by place alone. You might even term these friendships as ‘associates’ instead of friends, because you associate with one another because you feel that you have to.

There are special people that walk in and out of our lives, but leave their footprints behind for us to remember. And what is interesting is that even though distance or years may separate you, you never forget their presence or the memories you shared together.

I’ve met a lot of people throughout my life, many associates, but true friendships and relationships were always a rarity. The older I become, the more I appreciate and reflect on the impact those relationships had on my life at particular times.